Life's little hiccups

Kath never pages me at work, so yesterday when I was running from patient to patient, and I saw her phone number on my pager I did get a bit worried.
Turns out, it was for good reason. She called to tell me that "I think I ruptured my Achilles tendon during basketball practice." Ouch.
Luckily, it was her nondominant foot, so she could drive home. Luckily, I was at the hospital already so I could meet her and take her to the ER. Luckily, her time in the ER was fairly speedy-she was in and out in 2 hours. Luckily, she has almost no pain. Her foot is just kind of "floppy."

Unluckily, it is pretty obvious that she did completely tear her tendon and will need surgery to repair it. She has to wait a week to let the initial swelling go down before she sees the orthopedic surgeon.

Luckily, our insurance just was switched and we picked the maximal coverage. Luckily I have a week off at the end of January so we're hoping we can schedule her surgery at that time, when I can be home to pamper her. Luckily, she still has a few days off to rest on the couch (and not hop around playing Wii sports!).

Not the way we planned to start the New Year, but luckily she got plenty of DVDs in her Christmas stocking for just such an occasion.
I'm just thinking I should hide the Wii.

Merry Christmas

I have not posted at all since I started on Medicine.

It was a busy month - lots of sick patients. It was very rewarding at times, but very emotionally draining. I had a few cathartic nightly crying spells. I really think that Scrubs (the old show) is the best representation of hospital medicine.

Vacation for 6 days.

Time to enjoy the Christmas season. Time to enjoy time with family and friends.
Time to reflect on all of the good and wonder in life.
Time to focus on love and joy. And wassail.

Like my little kitty who just curled up on my lap and put her arm around my neck. Merry Christmas to you, my Puckerdoodles.

And Merry Christmas to you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for so many things today. I'm thankful for my love and our wonderful relaxing evening together and a whole day today. I'm thankful for our 3 wonderful kitties, even when they drive me insane. I'm thankful for my family - my new-ish family and my old one.

I'm thankful for our new little apartment in Providence and that I love being a psychiatrist. I'm thankful for Red Stripe, especially their frites, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and lemon drop martinis. I'm thankful that I love Providence, and that it's starting to feel like home. I'm thankful for all of my colleagues - wonderful people working alongside of me makes even the most awful days bearable (this I learned in graduate school).

I'm thankful for Cape Cod and Mattapoisett. When Kath and I drive out there on random weekends, as soon as we get to Mattapoisett, everything work-related just goes away. It's magical.

I'm thankful for red slippers, down comforters, and coffee. I'm thankful for lazy mornings when I can sip my coffee over 2 hours. I'm thankful for long, drawn-out autumn weather and my walk to work in the morning.

I'm thankful for the life that I've been given and the life ahead of me.


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

I know what I'll feel like in 50 years.

I had a training session yesterday for the first time in 6 weeks. Well, not that I've been completely inactive for the last 6 weeks... I have been walking to and from work every day, which is at least 1.5 miles each way... for one month it was probably 2.5 miles each way. But, needless to say, I haven't exactly been exerting myself... (although that hill coming up Steeple Street probably is a 7% grade and boy do my thighs burn at the top).

But anyway, yesterday I finally had a training session (Kath and I had each signed up for 3 half-hour sessions for the low-low price of ~$30 when we joined our gym), and my trainer ran into Kath and I sitting outside of Starbucks the other night, so I could no longer avoid her.

I think she got back at me yesterday for avoiding all of her phone calls for the past month.

It felt rather mild at the time. I mean, I was able to complete each aspect of the workout with some straining and groaning, but no significant pain. I was huffing and puffing at the end, and I did find myself running to the water fountain several times (which I never do... because I don't like plain water, as I told her), but overall I felt pretty good.

This morning I woke up and found that I was in almost exactly the same position in which I had fallen asleep.

I think it's because my body was in too much pain even in sleep. I've been limping around like a 100-year old woman today. Every muscle and tendon in my body is in pain. I cough, and I groan. I lean forward, and I groan. A kitty jumps on my lap, and I groan.

Katherine has been laughing at me, because even shifting positions on the couch is a big production. Doggone it, I just want to slouch down in my seat, but even that is painful to pull off.

I had better put in some time at the gym this week. I need to make some progress before next Monday. This past Sunday's session was only 30 minutes. My next one will be 1 hour long.

If you don't hear from me after that, I imagine I will be unable to even lift a finger to type.

It's not like it's a choice between chicken or fish...

The State of Virginia executed the sniper in the 2002 shooting spree today (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/us/11sniper.html).

Apparently the State of Virginia gives one the option of choosing one's execution method: lethal injection or electric chair.

How does that work?
Does one circle one's choice?
Does the State have a form with "Pros" and "Cons" for each?

If the whole practice weren't already so abhorrent, it has become even more so.

Fighting off SAD

I love the day after the time changes in the fall. But I hate, hate, hate how it is dark at 5pm, when I am heading home from the hospital. It's especially worse this year, with the shift to the Eastern Time Zone. I'm wondering if we should get one of those UV lights to ward off the winter blues. Especially since I will be starting Medicine this month and will not even get the sunlight in the morning when my days will begin at 5 am....

I lost a bet with Katherine, so I am making dinner tonight. Roast chicken with mashed sweet and regular potatoes and salad. Not a bad bet to lose, because, really, we both win. I was just mad that I lost. I never lose bets with her.

We made a quick weekend trip up to Vermont to visit Katherine's grandmother. She had a stroke in September, and we had last seen her two weeks prior to the stroke, at a family wedding. It was wonderful to see her, and although she can't communicate well, it was clear that she still enjoys seeing family. One thing I love about Katherine is how family-oriented she is - she shares this trait with her Memere.

I'm looking forward to this weekend - an entire weekend at home. I plan on baking and cooking and discovering downtown Providence and any cute shops that exist in that section of town. I'm trying to relish the relaxing moments left this month before I start the long haul that will be Medicine.

Life's ups and downs

We had our wedding. It was beautiful. It was so lovely. I can't believe that it's over. Kath and I have talked about that... how the actual wedding and the rest of the day was such a blur. We have to keep reminding ourselves that it happened. I can vividly remember us reciting our vows, and I can vividly remember us dancing to "True Companion". It was such a wonderful, wonderful day. I feel so lucky to have married such a wonderful, beautiful, amazing person (again), and I feel so lucky to have married into such a wonderful, loving, welcoming family. And I feel so lucky to have some very wonderful, supportive family and friends in my life. Life is good.

I feel quite stagnant at work these days. I try to push through it, but I am not inspired. It's almost the end of the month and this current rotation, though. A change will be good.

My computer crashed. 15 days before my 3 year warranty expired! How lucky is that!!!! I love Apple, though. I brought it to the Genius Bar at our local Apple Store, and they diagnosed my problem and said it would be fixed in one day. We pick it up tonight. This is one time when $300 (cost of 3-year warranty) ended up saving us $1500 (cost of new computer).

We are making little changes to our apartment, new curtains, additional little touches like a microwave cart in the kitchen, magnetic knife holder on the wall... little organizational touches. This is making both of us happier. It is really starting to feel like home.

Our car is also FINALLY inspected. I do not know who invented "check engine" lights, but I curse them. They DO NOT work. Our's has been off and on for the past 3 months for no important reason, apparently, other than to prevent our car from passing inspection. I brought our car into the garage on Wednesday, and our mechanic said that he would not return it to us without the car passing inspection. It's true... the light was off and inspected when I picked the car up. The light turned back on as I was on the way home. Oh well. We're good for two years.

And, that's all folks.
ND has a game today. Hence, I will be cleaning. :)

Happily ever after.

(Photo courtesy of Marianne.)

"This all started with our hands..."

I'm taking a break while the shower soaks in Oxyclean Cleaner. I'm hoping it's more effective than my hands, because my fingers tend to lock up in a claw shape when I scrub too long.

Oops. I was caught. Back to work.

We're cleaning the Cape House in preparation for next weekend. Whoo-hoo.

I keep telling the kitties that they will be legitimate after next weekend. They don't get too excited about that, but Kath and I are.

It's hard to believe, but seven years ago, Kath and I were 23 and 24 and young and in love. Now we're older but still in love.

The first time we held hands was at a University of Iowa dance performance, Duarte Dance Works. Pretty much all I remember is oranges rolling across the stage...

... and the holding hands bit.

Fall is here.

I've noticed the leaves beginning to turn colors on my morning walks to work. There's just something about these crisp fall mornings with the sun streaming down that puts me in a good mood. Even when I've been working for 14 days straight with 5 more to go before a day off.
We've been trying to settle in here... trying to do homey things. Both of us felt out of sorts the other weekend... partly PMS... partly that we don't have "our routine" here yet. We still feel like we've just moved, so even the tiniest things, like getting groceries for dinner, seem like so much work at times.
So, when in need of comfort and feelings of home, what do we turn to but.... comfort food! Perfect for the fall. Kath made chicken and biscuits this week... tuna melts and tomato soup on Friday... and this evening I'm making brown sugar buttercream topped pumpkin cupcakes.
And red wine. A South African pinotage. Perfect for a rainy fall evening. If nothing else, we at least have our wine shop routine. :)

Good mornings

The best mornings, these days, are when Kath and I wake up together, enjoy our coffee and tea in the kitchen and have a chance to talk before rushing off to work. And, we get to watch the kitty in the window across the driveway...

The occupants of that apartment have taken the screen off of the window so that the kitties can stick their heads outside and survey the roof... which is often the morning gym for 2-3 large feisty squirrels.

I'm waiting for the morning that one of the kitties gets too excited and runs out onto the roof after one of those squirrels.

Good night world, I'll see you tomorrow.

You know those days when you think, why did I even get up this morning?... Well, this has been dangerously close to one of those...

I did wake up, after sleeping in to a deliciously late 9am, and spend a lovely hour sipping my coffee while reading my always-wonderful Sunday edition of the NYTimes online. I then woke up my sleepy hon-bun and we enjoyed tea (well, she did... I had a second cup of coffee) and wild-blueberry teacake for breakfast.

Our next plan was to be productive and head to Tar-jay and check out the Trader Joe's in Warwick. Well, what greeted us when we stepped outside was a second flat tire in one week on our little car. AAAAAAArgh. Apparently, I did not read the receipt carefully enough from the garage when it was fixed on Tuesday, and the tire was not replaced but rather plugged. AAAAArgh. Poor Kath was close to tears. I tried to be upbeat and make a plan of attack... PepBoys, after all, was open on Sundays per the website.

Nope. Foiled again. Poor Kath valiantly changed the tire, (again, 2nd time in one week) and had headed down there to find that apparently they decided to take this Sunday off. AAAAAAAAAAArgh.

Luckily, we live within walking distance of the grocery store, and on the way there we joined a gym, also within walking distance (and which apparently has a large stay-at-home mom clientele, which means less extremely buff, sweaty men taking over the gym.... Yay... and it's not Curves).

So, then I wanted to be productive and get some laundry done... oh no... the washing machine chose today to eat my money and NOT WORK. AAAAAAARgh...

Luckily, I have a bottle of wine (from our wine shop within walking distance) and I'm making spaghetti bolognese for dinner... one of our favorite comforty recipes.

I am cleaning the living room, though. It's what I do when I feel out of control... as long as the living room is clean, all is right with my world.

The familiar

I rearranged the living room this weekend. I was trying to optimize our little space, and I managed to make enough room to allow us to add an extra piece of furniture back into the mix - our papasan chair was moved back up from storage.

And, as soon as the chair was put into place, Dory IMMEDIATELY hopped right in and settled down for a nap. That chair was her home during the four years that we lived in Iowa, and apparently she missed it. Never mind that she'd been loving our new couch and cuddling up with the new pillows on a daily basis.

And, she continues to love the papasan chair.

I thought it was quite funny and weird until I realized that I am the same. It took me a couple of weeks to adjust to our new apartment and our new/old double bed (not the queen we used in Iowa). I couldn't sleep properly until I made the bed with the pillow-top bed topper which we'd been using for the past few years.

I know what it feels like to have the comforting feel of my old bed back.

I guess that means that we really "don't" have an extra piece of furniture, but that's ok. It makes me happy to see my little Dory sleeping soundly every day.

To think or not to think.

A common practice in psychiatry, especially for a resident undergoing training in psychotherapy, is to undergo therapy themselves. The program that I am attending has an excellent training program in psychotherapy, which I am extremely excited about. It's one reason why I wanted to come here.

I was asked today, by another resident, if I plan on undergoing therapy. Many residents do - but it often comes down to cost and insurance coverage.

I thought about it on my walk home, and I realized that part of my reluctance to do so is not because of the cost but because I am afraid. I don't want to have to rehash the recent events in my life that sadden me to someone new. Katherine, my two sisters, and a few other people know about them. And they are not something that will improve with therapy.

Tincture of time is my remedy. And now and then a good cry and a kitty cuddle does the trick.

I think I'm PMSing. :)

We agree on one thing.

No pregnancy photos.

I know those are a trend now. I've seen many lovely photo albums online with both naked and clothed pregnant bellies and hands clasped lovingly over the soon-to-be miracle mound.

But, it's not for us. We both agree. I think for different reasons. I think she is not enamored by the beauty of the miracle of pregnancy. And I think I could get all sentimental with pregnancy hormones and want to immortalize such an event by a large framed photo. Which would embarrass her. So, no, not a good idea.

I did ask her the other night if we should take a "pregnancy photo" with my chip baby belly.

Maybe posting a giant photo on the fridge and the chip cupboard would help me lose it.

(Note of honesty: this post was typed after finishing a bag of chips. AAAAAgh!)

Hot, hot, hot.

Katherine was showing me her "sweat bubbles" tonight.
What, you may ask, are "sweat bubbles?" I asked that too.
Apparently, they are tiny pockets of skin that bubble up and burst, releasing saline, when she gets really hot.
I think this is strange. And unusual. I think she may once again be a medical mystery.
I need to google sweat bubbles.


Voila. I have diagnosed Katherine with the help of google and eMedicine.

"The primary stimuli for the development of miliaria are conditions of high heat and humidity that lead to excessive sweating. Occlusion of the skin due to clothing, bandages, or plastic sheets (in an experimental setting) can further contribute to pooling of sweat on the skin surface and overhydration of the stratum corneum. In susceptible persons, including infants, who have relatively immature eccrine glands, overhydration of the stratum corneum is thought to be sufficient to cause transient blockage of the acrosyringium.

If hot humid conditions persist, the individual continues to produce excessive sweat, but he or she is unable to secrete the sweat onto the skin surface because of ductal blockage. This blockage results in the leakage of sweat en route to the skin surface, either in the dermis or epidermis, with relative anhidrosis.

When the point of leakage is in the stratum corneum or just below it, as in miliaria crystallina, little accompanying inflammation is present, and the lesions are asymptomatic. In contrast, in miliaria rubra, the leakage of sweat into the subcorneal layers produces spongiotic vesicles and a chronic periductal inflammatory cell infiltrate in the papillary dermis and lower epidermis. In miliaria profunda, the escape of sweat into the papillary dermis generates a substantial, periductal lymphocytic infiltrate and spongiosis of the intra-epidermal duct."

That's my hon bun. A never-ending source of physical findings.
I hope one of my patients in my Thursday medicine clinic suffers from milaria crystallina.

My empathy meter increased today

I had a migraine. A horrible, awful migraine.
I don't usually get headaches, except in the context of caffeine withdrawal. And today, I only had half of my morning coffee in the context of daily strong Starbucks blends + multiple daily caffeinated sodas (which I don't usually drink but since they've been in the fridge and it's been hot.... well...)
So, by 1 pm, my head felt like a drum.
By 5 pm, since not only did I have a headache, but I had not had time to eat today as well, my head felt like it was going to explode, I felt like I was going to vomit and pass out, and I just wanted to crawl into a little ball in the corner.
But, since I was on call in the Psych ER, I couldn't.
Luckily, I ran into a fellow resident who happens to have a handy-dandy little migraine first aid kit.
It saved my head. And my night. By 7 pm, I could function normally again without wanting to die.
I am so lucky that I don't have headaches regularly.
I am so lucky that my headaches respond to appropriate treatment.
In my last month on neurology, I saw so many patients with intractible migraines.
It's good to be reminded what it feels like from their perspective.

A tour of our paint colors

Kath did an amazing job with our apartment. I came home on Friday to find that she had finished the kitchen trim, and thus completed painting our entire apartment. I helped minimally with the bedroom and living room. Today, we organized much of our remaining junk, put the kitchen back together, and went for a long walk around our new city. Providence is a lovely small city... we can walk from our very residential neighborhood to the downtown/capitol area which is only 1 mile or so away... I really am falling in love with Providence. The kitties love it too... they've all been getting along beautifully. Ty especially "loves" our new leather chair.. she's been putting her "love" all over it... aaaaaargh. But, life is good. I can't complain.


Our living room - "desert tan" with white trim.


Living room with "desert tan" color, the nice legs with which I live, and Ty, enjoying our new carpet.


Living room with "desert tan" color.


"Healing aloe" hallway, or otherwise known as pale green, green-gray... depending on the time of day and the light.


Bedroom in "seaview"


Bathroom in "gull wing gray".


Kitchen in "rich cream."

So many things...

1. We've been living on Cape Cod for 1 month now... I miss Iowa, but it's this vague thought that seems so long ago. I love the summer weather here on the ocean, and I do not miss Iowa summers. I do, however, miss Iowa peoples. :)

2. Kath has been busy, busy, busy painting our apartment. Thankfully we bought "natural" paint with minimal fumes, otherwise she'd be permanently high by now. It looks so wonderful, though... It's finally becoming "our" place. We just have to finish the kitchen, but we're actually going to be living there as of this Sunday. I'm so excited.

3. I've been an intern for a full 8 days now. I've been learning so much, and have so much to learn. Writing prescriptions for my patients at my outpatient medicine clinic really made it seem real. I can write a prescription... I'm a doctor. Crazy.

4. The kitties are doing so well with the move. They survived the car trip beautifully and have adjusted to living on Cape Cod quite well. They've been better house guests than I imagined... I don't think they'll love going for another car ride tomorrow... albeit a shorter one. I do think they'll love their new home, though. It will have their familiar furniture, and lots and lots of lovely windows.

5. I'm going to love living in Rhode Island. It has little quirks, like "extremely" friendly drivers who stop oncoming traffic to allow you to make a left turn, who let you in without hesitation in backed up traffic on the interstate, umpteen million potholes in Providence, and our little area in Providence is very neighborhoody and lovely. Coffee shops, restaurants, a boulevard with jogging/biking paths, and a very residential feel.

All in all, this move has been good. It has been everything that I imagined it will be. And Kath even learned about an outstanding art fest with >1000 artists that occurs in a little town outside Providence... Life is good.

Don't cry for me, Argentina

I find the current news about the governor of SC quite fascinating. I, of course, feel for his wife and children and hope for their sakes that it all dies down soon. Given our 24-hr news cycle, it should.

What strikes me as amusing, though, is that Gov. Sanford seems to think that the worst thing that he did was have an affair. While that is completely awful, I think the bigger issue is that he took off on a jaunt to an unknown location without telling (apparently) anyone where he went.... Hmmmm.... If I were in the executive office of a state or a country, while I might want to take off, I don't think that is the wisest decision.

Hypothetically speaking, there could have been a hurricane or an attack of sea turtles or some other freak occurrence. And, since everyone thought he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, time would have been wasted searching amongst the nude hikers (who knew that June 21st was Nude Hiking Day!).

Hmmm... maybe I should tell Kath about a possible vacation plan for next year. :)

Rain, rain, go away

Pretty please.

I would love just one sunny day this week or weekend to enjoy the beach, the sand, and my vacation-y People magazine.

Not so foreign

When my flatmate in England talked about her need to keep her boyfriend a secret from her family (both were Muslim, one family was Sunni and one was Shiite), I found her situation incredulous. I had no understanding as to how religion could be so divisive.

Clearly, I was blind.

Religion (or what some may think of as a lack thereof) has divided my own family, several generations before me. It has affected the generation above me as well.

And now, it has affected me and my generation.

I still don't understand it.

When I hear phrases like "blood is thicker than water" and "family -the ties that bind", I always think... well, just throw a little religion and politics into the mix and watch them unravel.

Wouldn't you know it...

... The one month that I do not have health or dental insurance, I develop what I have self-diagnosed as a small mouth ulcer. Probably from me accidentally biting my cheek on my left side multiple times and then sipping coffee with sugar throughout the day. Happy, happy bacteria, no doubt.

I am now self-medicating with topical oral anesthetics. I don't know what's worse... a sharp pain in the back of my mouth that is only relieved when gargling water or having a tingly, numb left side of my mouth and tongue.

Luckily, July 1st and the start of new health insurance is only 2 weeks away.

Midwesterner no more

We survived a furious last few days of packing and cleaning and ReloCube loading and 20 hours in a compact car with 3 kitties, one of whom traveled in the front seat on a lap.

I was so happy to actually get on the road that I was not even tearful to leave.

Until we swung by the Java House on the way out of town, and Katherine mentioned that this was the last time we'd use our Java Perks number.

Oh Iowa, I will miss you.

I "love" being a woman.

After my previous night and yesterday morning outbursts (if confused, please reference my previous post), poor Katherine tentatively got into the car yesterday when I picked her up after school.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Super!" I cheerfully replied. "Aunt Martha arrived for her monthly visit!"

"So life doesn't seem so dramatic anymore?"

"Nope. Everything's great. I polished off the sour cream and onion chips this morning, and I'm getting the check reissued."

"Oh, great! I wanted to say that I hope Aunt Martha comes soon, but I wasn't sure how you'd respond to that..."

I know God must not be a woman, because no woman would put another woman through the emotional turmoil of our monthly hormone flux.

Rethinking my decision

In the past 12 hours I have cried and wailed and scared the kitties by making growling noises.

First, I shrunk a brand-new pair of dress pants (worn only once) because I didn't line-dry them. That made me mad.

Then, I tried on said-pair of pants and had a "fat tantrum" because "if I was skinnier it wouldn't matter if I shrunk the pants - they would still fit."

And this morning, I discovered that I had thrown out a ~$100 travel reimbursement check that came in the mail yesterday. I had "safely" placed it prominently on the table, but apparently it wasn't so "prominent" because we had a massive paper cleaning binge last night and I obviously tossed it. This was the point at which I clenched my teeth and shook my fists and screamed and growled through said-clenched teeth. (Btw... this is a very effective way to scream - it allows one the illusion of a scream, without screaming as loudly as one would otherwise.)

I had thought that my leisurely packing schedule would make this time of living in upheaval less stressful.

Apparently, I was wrong.

At this point, I am retaining any shred of sanity by thinking of the Art Fest coming up this weekend.

My PA streak coming through

When I'm driving through a section of town that's notorious for its high prevalence of speeding tickets, if a particularly agressive driver sits on my tail, I take great joy in slowing down to 5 miles under the speed limit.

When I'm stepping out onto a noticeably marked pedestrian crosswalk, if the car coming at me seems particularly unconcerned about the pedestrian right-of-way, I take great joy in dawdling my way across the crosswalk.


Especially if I'm having a bad day - then it is even more fun.

It's not Seattle, but..

Since I have no source of distraction at home, I've made significant packing progress and am getting to that point where I have all sorts of random items scattered about but no logical way to combine them into one box because they don't all fit in "kitchen" or "bedroom" or "living room". So, that makes me wander about in a haze and wonder what to do next.

A break was needed. So last night, I went to the Farmer's Market and the Co-op and picked up a delicious dinner of tortilla chips, fresh pico de gallo (with avocado in it!), and hummus... and of course, a bottle of red wine (since it was rainy and cool-ish).

And I lounged. With Frasier. And Niles. Ahhh.

And then asked Katherine to refill my wine and get me a brownie (which I had baked the previous evening).

It was glorious.

I hope I'm right.

I'm cancelling our cable and internet service today. Tomorrow is the start of a new service month, and since we'd be leaving in the middle of it, I'd prefer to go without for two weeks rather than get a reimbursement check several months down the road.

Katherine had no major objection to this plan, since the season finales of our favorite TV shows have all aired.

In her opinion, the main flaw in my plan to save money came in when I said, "Well, if we need to check our email or go online, we can just go down to the Java House..."

She thought, that if this was my plan, perhaps we wouldn't save any money after all.

Especially since she didn't like my initial plan of pirating the wireless internet from the Java House parking lot, while sitting in our car.

Perhaps she's right. Maybe that would look kind of fishy.

I know I'm an addict when...

... I did not get my morning coffee until 10am, when I arrived at the lab, because we were out of milk at home.

I walked into my PhD advisor's office, and he said, "You look awful...."

Yes, that would be me in the morning without coffee. Not a pretty sight.

Today is my Monday

When I think about the cost of the past 8 years of medical and graduate school, I think about all of the clothes in my closet that I do not wear. Prior to beginning med school in 2001, I was the fittest that I have ever been. I was training for a marathon, lifting weights, eating healthily... all of the wonderful things that doctors advise their patients to do. Then, the stress of never-ending studying and testing hit. And, although I studied in college, the amount of studying that I was accustomed to was only a third of what would keep me afloat in med school. So, I gradually gave up running and going to the gym because it took up valuable study time. I turned to my old comfort food standby of chips, chips, and more chips. And now, 31 pounds later, I have graduated. However, in 6 weeks, I will start the cycle all over again with residency. I do not want another 31 pounds.

I do not normally watch the Biggest Loser, but I caught most of the season on Hulu during my writing month in April. I just watched the season finale on Monday night. And, I tell you, I am inspired! 48 yo Helen, who won, went from ~250 lbs down to 117 lbs. It was incredible. What really struck me, though, was hearing her talk about her past battles with weight, and how she "would start [each new diet] on a Monday." That is me. I like to start my new diets on Mondays. Or the 1st of each month, or the 5th, or 15th, or 20th. Or Sunday. But not during the middle of the week. When Helen started on the show, she proclaimed that "Today is my Monday."

So, today I am determined to get back to the fit, healthy me. I am going to take the next 6 weeks as an opportunity to change my lifestyle and find other sources of stress relief other than chips, vegging on the couch, and other such sedentary activities. I need to establish my new routines prior to starting my intern year.

Today is my Monday.

I have it!

I have discovered my new packing motivation.

For every box that I complete, I reward myself with a wee bit of refreshment.

Hello leftover Liebfraumilch!

I think I will unpack and repack my one lowly box.

To pack or not to pack

I'm not a packer. I try. I sit down and think about how best to start. I look up packing supply packages on line. I make sure that our pods are scheduled for delivery. I debate whether to buy boxes or to spend my time going from store to store collecting boxes for free. I makes plans in my head as to which room I will tackle first.

But do I actually start packing?

No.

Instead, I look at old pictures and photo albums. I do several loads of laundry (because when I do start packing, I only want to pack clean items!). I continue to plan in my head.

I'm much better at unpacking.

Now Katherine, on the other hand, is a master packer. I think she inherits this from her father. Katherine packed up her entire apartment in ONE night when she moved out to Iowa.

Maybe I could pretend to be her for 3 weeks, and she could be me. I think more progress would be made. I don't think I could pass as a teacher, though.

Hot kitty in the city

Can life get any better?

Let's see. In the course of a week, I...

1. Finished med school.
2. Attended my little brother's wedding.
3. Saw family and siblings that I had not seen in years.
4. Had many laughs with said-siblings.
5. Caught up with old friends.
6. Met new and virtual friends.
7. Made lovely pendants.
8. Toured my sister around Iowa City for a final visit.
9. Had the wonderful surprise of Kath's mother arriving for my graduation.
10. Graduated. (That elusive MD, PhD is no longer so elusive.)
11. Discovered a lovely park that I had never seen in my 8 years here.
12. Had one last celebratory dinner at our favorite local fine dining establishment.
13. Enjoyed many long talks and laughs.
14. Warmed up with eggrolls at the Farmer's Market.
15. Smiled excessively.

Tomorrow, it's back to the reality of packing.

This one goes out to the one I love.

I'm done. I just took my last test as a med student. Hurrah!

As I was walking to take my last test, it finally hit me that after 8 years, I will finally graduate. Life will move on. I was so excited that I was shaking - unfortunately that last test was an essay-version. Hopefully my writing is legible.

I have been lucky. I have had wonderful teachers and mentors and supporters all throughout my life.

The one person, though, without whom I would not be graduating in one week, who I met during my first year here at Iowa, and who has been an unfailing supporter during my last 7 years, is my hon bun, my better half, my wonderful super-duper Katherine.

She has cheered me on (as well as distracted me) every step of the way. (I believe I almost failed a pathology exam during my 2nd year after we drove to Ames to an outstanding Elton John/Billy Joel concert (which was completely awesome and worth almost failing). I also recall being up until the wee hours of the morning finishing up my PhD comprehensive exam proposal after we went to a Sarah McLachlan concert in Hartford.) She has read I don't know how many versions of my thesis intro. She has had to listen to me tell her umpteen million random facts while studying, which I am sure have not been as interesting to her. She has been tormented by me showing her pictures of diseases that I think are interesting and she thinks are disgusting. She has been my practice fake patient for physical exam skills. And she has been there during my hard times - times when I felt alone, times when I felt like a failure, times when I felt like I would never ever in a million years graduate.

She is the best person in the entire world. She makes me so happy every day.

I am so lucky.

2009 BC

I am living in BC time... "before computers". That time was more peaceful - no need to check email every few hours, no need to frequently update myself on the breaking news, no need to check facebook, or blogs, or any of the other sites I frequent on a regular basis.
I'm living in that time again, since our power cord for our Mac melted. First the cord simply frayed, so we were trying to continue using it while waiting for our new one. But, the other day I saw it smoking while I was trying to charge the computer, so I decided in the interest of fire safety, that we would just not bother.

So, we are computer-less for now.

I'm knitting a lot. I'm organizing the house for the move. I'm reading. I'm talking to Katherine more. I'm cleaning. I'm looking at old pictures. I'm doing laundry. I'm even doing my homework for my EKG class (which is difficult since I only have 2.5 days left... I'm in a slacking mode in a major way... although I do enjoy reading EKGs.)

In short, life in the time BC was and is very good.

This settles it. No super-duper fancy Blackberry or iPhone for me.

My perfect morning in Iowa City

I wake up to the sun streaming in the window at 7 am.

I don't have to get up, but I do because it's such a nice morning.

I have a wee cup of coffee to get me started.

I shower.

I wake Kath up, and we head downtown.

We wander around the Farmer's Market and ooh and aah over all of the spring plants that we can't buy because we're moving.

We drink coffee and tea and share a muffin at the Java House and read in the paper about all of the same-sex marriages this week in Iowa City.

We move to the Ped Mall and soak up the sun for a bit.

We wander down to the Art Fair along the river and go to every booth twice.

I find many things that I want to buy, but I restrain myself and only buy one item for me - under $20.

We amble back downtown and browse around the Artisans' Gallery.

We pick up lunch - Cashew on a Hot Tin Roof sandwich - from the New Pi Co-op and enjoy it at City Park with the river (quite high) lapping at our feet. Kath feeds our crumbs to the happy duck couple.

We head home and enjoy the afternoon sun now on our deck with our kitties.

6 days left

I have 6 days left of med school - 16 hours in class, to be exact. Well, and the two tests for this rotation.

But, after 25 years of school, that's nothing.

I'm so excited.

And, I'm even more excited because I apparently did not miss the RiverFest art fair this year that I thought was last weekend. I just read that there is a "Riverbank" art fair this weekend.

I can't wait to tell Katherine what she'll be enjoying with me this weekend. :)

It's the final countdown

We have 50 days remaining as residents of Iowa. Egads.

So what am I doing to be productive?

Why, watching Dan in Real Life, of course.

And imagining our soon-to-be life in Rhode Island.

Which is where we are going this weekend. And Cape Cod, of course.

And, I passed the 2nd half of my boards.

It looks like I really will be graduating. Yikes.

Oops.

Kath and I stopped at the famous Iowa 80 truck stop on the way home from ND. Mainly because I have a tiny bladder. I also took the opportunity to purchase a yummy traveling snack of chips. As I told Katherine, one of my favorite things about traveling when I was a child was being able to eat treats in the car. As I was polishing off the last of my chips, I looked down to see crumbs covering my sweatshirt.

"Oops," I said. "I have chip crumbs all over me."

Katherine laughed and said, "I'll avert my eyes to avoid looking at your shame."

"I'm not ashamed," I replied. "I think it's funny, and I just remembered that I was giving up chips for the next month."

Oops.

My favorite football game

Kath and I drove to Notre Dame on Saturday for the annual football spring scrimmage - the Blue and Gold game. It's my favorite football game; Notre Dame wins, it's only an hour long, the weather is (generally) lovely, and we get to enjoy the atmosphere of Notre Dame without paying too much money for tickets. And it was a lovely day - I got a bit red to prove it; Katherine already looks like she spent a week at the beach. Since we woke up at 5 am on Saturday, we were quite tired after the game, so wandering about the campus was enough to completely exhaust us. Our evening plans consisted of dinner at TGI Fridays (because every weekend when Kath was at Notre Dame, she and her friends would go to TGI Fridays, find that the wait was too long, and go to Chili's instead) and watching The Departed in our hotel room (I did not remember that Leonardo DiCaprio's character dies, so we were very upset). We went to church at the Basilica this morning and then drove home through overcast skies and rain.

It was good to get away. I've been in a funky mood - very angry and sad for many reasons. Stress about our upcoming changes, mostly, but also family drama. Getting away helped refocus my energy in a more positive direction.

And, I love Notre Dame. It will be our last visit there for a long time. Annual trips to Notre Dame are not so affordable when one lives on the East Coast.

While we were watching the game, I asked Katherine how much we would have to donate to be eligible for season tickets. She said it was a lot. I asked her if she would prefer to have Notre Dame season football tickets or children. I was somewhat shocked when she chose children; I anticipated that would be more of a dilemma. (For the record, she also said that she loves me more than Notre Dame.)

It's good that Easter is the season of forgiveness and redemption

Katherine is fasting today, as it is Good Friday.

I told her yesterday that my plan was to make a giant, yummy meal tonight that she would not be able to eat so that she could really connect with Christ and His trials in the garden of Gethsemane.

It's bad enough that, during Lent, I get strange cravings for steak on Fridays. And, I'm not a big meat lover, usually.

Sometimes, I am an awful spouse.

But, for some reason, she still loves me.

It's official

We have our cupcakes.

If you remember back to, oh maybe a month to 5 weeks ago, I was practicing making pumpkin cupcakes for our wedding. (Yay!)

Well, last night I was craving fruit crisp. But, since neither Kath nor I wanted to head down to the grocery to buy ingredients for said-crisp, we pulled out two of the frozen pumpkin cupcakes that we had been test-freezing. We defrosted them and ate them.

And then ate the remaining two while watching The Mentalist.

They were still SO yummy.

And, they freeze well!

So, now we know. Sadly, since we ate the remaining cupcakes, I will have to make another batch to test another frosting, as we still have not agreed on that aspect. (I'm really not that sad, though.)

We also have to test out chocolate cupcakes, because Katherine said that if she went to a wedding and they did not have chocolate cake, she would be sad.

I don't really want her to be sad at her own wedding.

Oh happy day!

Vermont's legislature has had its way.

Thanks to a veto override, same-sex marriage is now legal in Vermont.

And, the "faux-family" supporters won't be able to blame this victory on "activist judges."

Alas... *pulls out tiny violin*

Happy sounds

Dory snoring.

Ty purring on my lap.

Katherine laughing.

The themesong for Sex and the City.

It has been a good day.

On my soapbox

"Marriage should be undertaken for the procreation of children . Will the court also gaurentee [sic] this couple have children naturally too."

I'm going on my my soapbox limb right now, and I'm going to expel the voices raging inside my head when I read posts such as this one, from a New York Times debate, on this issue of same-sex marriage.

IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT. IDIOT.

I know that people do not all agree on the topic of same-sex marriage. But still, if you're going to have an opinion, please try to have a defensible one. According to the above-stated (logic?), any infertile, elderly, or simply-uninterested-in-children heterosexual couples should not be allowed to marry under our current laws.

Idiot.

That's all I have to say about that.

(If you haven't guessed, I tend to get riled up about this topic.)

This is why we have 3 branches of government.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled today, on Varnum v. Brien, that Iowa's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. From the ruling:

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification. There is no material fact, genuinely in dispute, that can affect this
determination."

Hip-hip-hooray!

I told Katherine recently that after living in Iowa City for 8 years, it's become my home. More so than my original home.

This victory makes me love Iowa even more.

The electric car gets its revenge.

Katherine watched a documentary titled "Who Killed the Electric Car?" the other day while I was studying. I didn't catch all of it, but I caught enough to know that GM had invested in research and development of an electric car back in the 90s, but then killed it and destroyed all of its test cars for unknown but undoubtedly political reasons. The documentary was shocking, and I was angered by the shortsightedness of GM's corporate headquarters.

So, it was quite amusing, in a way, to see this latest headline in the New York Times, "China Vies To Be World Leader in Electric Car". Also, one sentence particularly caught my eye.. "The United States has been a laggard in alternative vehicles." I bet that is particularly infuriating to the engineers who worked on the electric car project. They were way ahead of the curve, and GM and politicians destroyed their project.

I find this especially interesting in light of GM's current financial predicament. I feel like the electric cars that GM destroyed may be the ones laughing now, in their junkyard graves.

I also recommend that you watch the documentary. If you are not upset by corporate America already, I can guarantee that you will be after you watch it.

Not animal tested, but Puck approved.

We use expensive hair control paste in our house - not tested on animals.

Puck loves it. Every night, I'll be dozing off to sleep and I'll hear "Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick" next to me. It's Puck, licking Katherine's hair.

I used to try and stop her, but now I think it's too funny.

It does have a nice earthy smell. I wondered if it tasted as good as it smelled, so I tried it too.

I think it makes a better hair paste. To each her own, though.

Thoughts from this morning

When the kitties start chasing each other and crying 30 minutes prior to the alarm going off, I could happily imagine a life without them.

Why do news programs bring victims on their shows to ask them such insightful questions as, "How did you feel when your parents were killed?" I think of that as socially-accepted voyeurism under the guise of journalism.

The stock market is silly.

I can look out the window today, since the snow has almost completely melted.

On the local news this morning: "a woman was arrested after stealing several paintings from a local hospital." I know that I have coveted more than a few works of art displayed there, myself. I wonder if we have the same taste?

It's the little things

Real cream in my coffee makes the day seem extra special.

It's a little bit scary.

The next time I see patients, I will have an MD after my name.

I'm hoping that sometime in the interim I will suddenly feel smarter and more prepared.

Oh well. Thanks to Katherine, I will at least be comfortable diagnosing shingles.

Heaven never seemed too appealing to me...

When I was little, I was told that everyone doesn't go to heaven. So my thought was that, in heaven, we must not know other people. Because clearly, if we recognized the other people in heaven, then we would know who wasn't there, so how could we be happy?! But, on the other hand, heaven wouldn't be that fun if we didn't know our family and friends.... It was a pickle, I tell you.

Also, I envisioned heaven to be filled with clouds where we would sit all day, singing church hymns, and listening to endless sermons.

So, you can imagine why it didn't sound that enticing to me.

Sometimes it would be nice to be an ostrich.

I'd like to bury my head in the sand.

I've been waking up at 4 am, panicking about how little time we have left here in Iowa City.

I'm excited to move.

But I hate the actual moving.

Maybe I should focus on how I will be able to discard some of our belongings during the moving/cleaning process.

That always makes me happy.

(I just won't tell Katherine about my plan.)

Relieved.

Conservative pundits like Ann Coulter, as well as the "Moral Majority", are the reason I left the Republican Party.

Plus, my political views had shifted.

But, if anyone's going to speak for me, I'd much rather have it be Rachel Maddow.

I'm a morning person.

When I was little, I would get up early every morning, bring my little radio downstairs with me, and rock on our comfy orange rocking chair. (My father often joked that he couldn't believe I didn't get motion sickness as a result of my excessive rocking.) However, I required time to properly wake up. If one of my siblings had purposely woken up early to usurp my favorite piece of furniture, I was furious. I would stand next to the rocking chair and glare at them until they moved. (I'm sure they thought this was a hilarious activity.)

I still love mornings, especially on the weekends. I love the early morning sun, and the sounds of birds chirping. I love the quiet and solitude. I love how our kitties are so happy and content after filling their bellies and can sleep for hours. I love being able to take time to drink my coffee and slowly wake up completely.

I have my mornings back. Until July 1st, at least. This makes me happy.

The pharmacology of my productivity receptors

Agonists
1. Coffee
2. The smell of coffee
3. White noise - quiet conversation, classical music
4. The Java House
5. Pens that work well

Noncompetitive antagonists
1. Internet access

Competitive antagonists
1. Fatigue
2. TV
3. Kitties in my lap

Spring forward

I never mind the first day of daylight saving time, even though I miss that precious hour of sleep. The light at 7pm is so appealing and novel. It's waking up the 2nd day, in the dark again, that is painful.

The Story

Four and a half years ago, on 8.6.04, in the little town of Greenfield MA, Katherine and I were married by a justice of the peace. Massachusetts had recently legalized gay marriage, and although we had talked about our future, we had planned on getting married down the road. But, with Mitt Romney rearing his ugly head (and our fear that this opportunity would be denied to us) and my planned vacation to visit Katherine, we decided to take the plunge after a spur of the moment decision. (Well, as "spur of the moment" as can occur with the syphilis testing that Massachusetts requires.)

Our plan was that, when I finished and we moved to the area for residency, we would have a celebration/wedding with family and friends.

And, that time has come. 5 years later. Katherine announced to me on Valentine's Day, over our candlelit dinner, that we had better start planning for our coming wedding this fall on Cape Cod.

We're getting married, again. With a minister this time. And witnesses. (Apparently, Massachusetts doesn't require those based on past experience.)

So today I'm practicing for that most essential component of any wedding. The Cake. But not cake. Cupcakes. Pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting. Our grocery store clerk apparently is willing to be the taste tester. Which is excellent because my plans for testing cupcake recipes may interfere with my weight loss plans.

Oh well. You only get married once. Or twice.

Who needs sleep?

One week into Anesthesia, and one week away from finishing this rotation. Katherine and I will both be happy when it's over. Me, because I'll have time to drink my morning coffee again. Katherine, because she won't have to drive me in to the hospital at 6 am EVER AGAIN! (I hate the rotations that start before the buses run.) My last few rotations have better hours.

I am happy that I do not have to rotate on Urology and Orthopedics. Rounds for those services occur around 4:30 am or so. Also, I always wonder how accurate patient assessments are when I'm talking to them at 5:30 am. I'm never fully cognitively intact at that hour, so why do we expect patients to be?

Hit the road, Jack.

I refused to admit that it was not Spring weather today and did not wear a jacket while waiting for the bus. Consequently, I was quite chilly by the time it finally arrived, but my morning coffee and a "Cinn-ful" blueberry muffin warmed me up when I got to the hospital.

Kath and I are heading out of town tonight - to the (hopefully balmy) city of Philadelphia. At least it's the City of Brotherly (and sisterly) Love, and love is a warming feeling. We are looking forward to (warm) cheesesteaks and a wonderful weekend with Laura, Kath's sister. I suppose, if it's cold, it would be more appropriate for the "Rocky run up the stairs" that I've been envisioning in my head.

I hope that every last vestige of winter is gone by the time we return on Sunday. Begone, winter. I have moved on and am flirting with Spring.

What is it about February?

February is not my favorite month. I try to enjoy it every year. It does have Valentine's Day in it, after all... But once again, I am anxiously awaiting for this month to pass. We had several lovely days with warm temperatures that ultimately were just meant to taunt me. Now, I am back in the depths of the winter funk. It is cold out. I'm cold inside. And my skin is dry and itchy. Ugh.

I can see why people take tropical vacations in February. Someday, when I'm not in school, and we are fabulously wealthy, we will go on vacation every year at this time to a lovely warm destination.

I think that I had better start playing the lottery.

Happy Valentine's Day to my Better Half

Seven years ago today
was very romantic,
but in a different way.

Roses, chocolate, and out to dinner...
I felt so lucky,
as you are such a winner.

Now our lives are much more typical.
And although the love is still there,
it's just not as mystical.

But to me our love is even more true,
as you know all of my flaws,
and you see me when I'm blue.

You know me better than ever before.
That's why I wouldn't choose to go back
to the years of yore.

You're cuter than Gerard Butler with your eyes of "toffee" (sorry, it rhymed :),
and you buy me pastries in the morning
to go with my coffee.

So Happy V-Day to my love and hon bun.
I'm in love with you even more,
and you're still the one.

No one wants to be left out

Ty is Katherine's cat. Even though Kath and I were together when she got Ty, our little black kitty gravitated towards Katherine. Ty used to sleep curled up around Katherine's head, and she would clean Kath's face and ears every morning.

Ty bonded with Katherine even more when the two of them moved back to Massachusetts for two years. Ty slept on one side of the bed, and Kath had the other. Every morning, Ty would wake up Katherine 30 minutes before the alarm was scheduled to go off by dropping a toy mousie on Kath's face.

Our little girl has had a rough transition since moving back to Iowa. She's had to find a place for herself in a home with two other kitties, neither of whom were thrilled about her presence. It's been a long road for her.

Each night, at bedtime, we call out to the kitties... "Puck, Ty, Dory... time for sleepies." Puck comes running, bounds onto the bed, and tries to snuggle with both of us at the same time. Dory will come trotting in after a few minutes, leap onto the bed, and settle down. Ty, in the past, has taken advantage of the empty house to run around and play for a bit.

But lately, just when we're dozing off, we hear this plaintive cry from the living room. It's Ty's "I'm here" meow. So one of us gets up, picks her up, and carries her to her bed, gives Ty her catnip banana, and gives her a kiss. Then she settles down and goes to sleep.

It's a good reminder to me that everyone wants to feel loved and "belong." Even kitties.

Why I get more picks

We went to see Slumdog Millionaire tonight. It was Katherine's pick. I picked last weekend - Rachel Getting Married. And the time before that. And before that. And before that.... Sometimes the movie choice is unanimous, but when it's not, usually I win.

Slumdog was outstanding. It deserves to win the Oscar for Best Picture. And Best Director. If if were up to me, I'd give it the Oscar in every category it's nominated.

However, it took me half of the drive home to stop crying. Because, intermixed with the beautiful directing and inspirational love story was the truth about what life in India is like for many people. Slums. Poverty. Violence. Loss. Heartbreak. Exploitation. That's what kept me crying even after the ending with the Bollywood-ish dance scene.

I'm very happy that we saw the movie. Kath made an excellent choice. It's just going to take me a few romantic comedies to recover.

Good thing February and Valentine's Day is just around the corner. The movies will be ripe for my picking.

My helper

Sometimes the reason for my difficulties in completing work at home is staring me in the face.

Sometimes it's better to be a cat

Yesterday I found out that I had passed the first half of my boards required for graduation and preliminary licensure prior to beginning residency. I had taken the test on December 16, and ever since then the belief that I had failed was hovering in the back of my mind. (The test is only pass/fail, costs $1000 + travel costs, is only offered in 5 locations throughout the US, and is difficult to schedule.) I managed to forget about it during the day over the holidays, but every night that nagging thought would pop back up. So, yesterday when I learned that I had passed, I had to keep going back to check that my mind was not playing tricks on me.

Yesterday, it felt like this huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders, and I finally slept well for the first time in 6 weeks.

Now, I can finally move on and get ready for the second half of my board exams. I own my mind again.

And I can stop wishing that I could be a cat - they always sleep well.

A few of my current favorite things

1. Peet's coffee - from my Christmas stocking
2. My "psych-looking" Java House mug
3. Kitties napping in the morning
4. Kitties napping in the afternoon
5. Kitties napping on my lap
6. dietgirl.org
7. Our new queen-sized down comforter from llbean - our Christmas present to each other
8. Afternoon sunshine
9. Afternoon gym excursions - even if it's just to pedal on the lowest resistance and read magazines
10. Temperatures above zero
11. ttv photos
12. Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give
13. Sharing happy news with my hon bun
14. One More Time by Mike Royko
15. Rachael Ray's Chicken Provencal Stoup

It's cold outside but warm in my heart

Katherine and I got to know each other because of music. We discovered that we could talk to each other endlessly while driving to Chicago to see Melissa Etheridge one July 4th weekend. (My sister Lib was in the backseat sleeping for the majority of the trip and would wake up occasionally to say "I don't like slow songs.") Our first "non-date that should have been a date" was to see one of our now-favorite folk singers, Beth Amsel. And since then we've continued to discover other old and new female folk or indie artists together.

I get cranky this time of year. I'm not a fan of cold, dry January - those days when I step outside and my nose hairs freeze are my least favorite. Yesterday was such a day. I want to hibernate and not wake up until spring.

But last night, Katherine put her metaphorical foot down and we drove up to Cedar Rapids (really a mere 23 miles away, but we never go there) to see Catie Curtis at a recently-reopened-since-the-June-floods arts center. The concert was outstanding - the audience didn't mind that it was chilly inside and that there was a plumbing issue that required "letting yellow mellow." Katherine and I both loved her - another artist to add to our repertoire.

And when we drove home afterwards, somehow the cold seemed more bearable.

The Mini-Loser Challenge

Katherine and I are having a 3 month-long weight loss challenge, beginning tomorrow, modeled off of The Biggest Loser. We will weigh in tomorrow morning and have weekly, monthly, and a final 3 month prize for the "biggest loser" based upon our weight-loss percentage. The 3 month prize will be a luxurious massage at a local lifestyle spa.

I'm very excited. I think that I finally have figured out how to best channel Kath's competitive spirit and my general ambivalence about competition into a mutually beneficial weight-loss program.

Of course, I did lay down the law... Tempting the competition with chips or other such tasty treats will not be considered fair play and will result in forfeiture of future prizes. Unless the competition wants to be tempted.

The Perfect Storm

You know what happens when you live with your sisters or your girlfriends and your cycles all sync up and you're all craving chocolate and feeling moody...

As Katherine put it tonight, "It's the perfect storm."

I blew up and she blew up, and we both took turns crying and apologizing. But afterwards, I told Katherine that "I feel so much better."

Sometimes, you just need a good cry. (I swear this is why women, in general, have longer lifespans than men. My theory is that PMS forces our emotions out whether we like it or not.)

Of course, this was already after we had gone to a screening of the documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk", at which I had found myself excessively sniffling (luckily I was just one of an entire choir of snifflers). So, you can imagine how red my eyes and nose are now...

Katherine had better watch out...

I think that I fell in love just a little bit when the first thing that President Barack Obama asked the crowd at the Neighborhood ball was,

"First of all, how good looking is my wife?"

Excellent priorities, Mr. President.

The Declaration of Independence rings true today.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."

At times, grasping the significance of this day seems impossible. Listening to Barack Obama's speech on Election night brought it home, and I suspect that listening to his inaugural address will have the same effect. Even just watching the crowds milling about on the Mall, wanting to be present on this day, fills me with such a feeling of hope, inspiration, and a belief in the power of the American democracy.

I think that I will need a box of Kleenex when I watch the inauguration this morning.

And, this may be silly, but I'm also very excited to see Michelle Obama's inaugural gown.

I think I should take my cue from the cat.

Our cat Puck has always been a food lover. We got her when she was a tiny kitten, barely a month old... my roommate found Puck and her siblings in our garden... she was the runt of the litter, and Katherine and I decided that her siblings ate her share of dinner because as soon as Puck came to live with us, she ate and ate and ate and ate. We had a two-sided food bowl - one side for Puck and one for Ty. However, Puck would sit in one side and eat out of the other. It was hilarious; especially as Ty would politely wait until Puck was finished unless we intervened.

Because of her weight, Puck has always been relatively unathletic. She could jump on our couches, and on the bed, and on our laps, but she has never been one of those cats who likes high places. Ty was always the athletic kitty. She has always been one to find her way to the tallest piece of furniture - kitchen cupboards or bookcases - and survey her domain. Ty's athleticism has served her well as she is constantly hunted by our third kitty, Dory, who has a head tremor. Ty's refuge has been our tall bedroom bureau. Neither Dory nor Puck can jump that high, luckily for her.

Until now. For the past two days, Puck has found her way onto Ty's bureau. We have not seen this miraculous feat of athleticism, but we can only assume that Puck can jump. Kath and I are assuming that Puck has found her inner athlete since we put her on a diet.

My New Year's resolution is, as always, to lose weight, become healthier, and to find my inner athlete. I'm thinking that I'm like Puck. It's there, but I just need to find it. Maybe the secret is to have Katherine start taking my food bowl away from me.

I need something warm.

These days, when the temps are hovering below zero for what seems like an interminable length of time, I find myself longing for sun, crackling fires, warm sand, beach towels...

So, when Katherine asked me what my music suggestions were the other day, I said "anything warm," which led to listening to Cat Stevens. This led to a discussion last night about whether our songs in iTunes were "warm or cold". These are some of our conclusions....

Warm:
Lose Yourself by Eminem
Sand in My Shoes by Dido
Original Sin by Elton John
Boston by Augustana
No More Valentines by Elton John
Perfect Love by Marc Cohn

Cold:
Here (In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye
Push by Sarah McLachlan
Life for Rent by Dido
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses by U2

We disagreed about Clocks by Coldplay. Kath thinks it's warm; I think it's cold. But we agreed that individual artists can have both warm and cold songs... even on the same album. In general, I was surprised at how much we agreed on this nebulous classification scheme.

You know it's cold when....

... you have not changed your clothes for 3 days because it's too cold to enter the closet as a result of the air leaking in around the air conditioner.

... you take hot showers just so your feet can reach normal body temperature for a few glorious minutes... even though you haven't been outside in 3 days.

... you have spent the past 24 hours huddled on the couch under two blankets and 3 kitties watching a Lord of the Rings marathon because school is cancelled and if you venture outside for more than 10 minutes you will die... at least that's my interpretation.

Yay for the coming balmy weekend... temps in the 20s!

The quoteboard

In my lab, we have a quoteboard on which we write amusing quotes by members of the lab, that, especially when read out of context, are quite hilarious. For the most part, they are unfit for respectable company, so I would not post them here. But, I've often thought that we should have a quoteboard at home because I live with quite the witty companion.

Take tonight for example.... Katherine was dancing around, fresh off of her Hip-hop abs workout session... so I was teasing her that this hip-hop workout might be giving her a hip-hop attitude. Her response was that "It just brings out my inner girl-from-the-streets." Hee hee. If you know where Katherine grew up... quaint, New Englandy, one-street Deerfield... combining that with "girl-from-the-streets" is just too hilarious.

Milk, it does a body good

Kath and I went to see Millk on Sunday afternoon. We've been waiting to see it since it came out, and it lived up to our expectations. In light of the recent election results, I thought the movie was aptly timed in its release. I thought I would make it through the movie without crying, since I knew the story, but no... the last scene with the candlelight march left me mopping my eyes with my butter-soaked napkin.

Kath and I were thinking that if Harvey Milk had been alive today, Proposition 8 would not have passed in California. Milk fought to prevent Proposition 6 from passing in California at the time - this would have led to the firing of all gay and lesbian teachers and their supporters in California schools. Part of their strategy was to encourage gay individuals to come out to everyone they knew as a way to show people that someone that they knew was gay.

My theory is that being closeted about anything is unhealthy. Living my life honestly and without fear of others' opinions of my life is always best. I certainly have struggled with this at times, but I find that I am happier when I live in this way. It does help that I have a home with someone who loves me, always.

This "someone" tends to be more aware of others' opinions. And, she may disagree with me that living one's life without consideration for others' opinions is always best. Especially when I tell her that I would never break up with her because "I know that I am the best person for her." Then she rolls her eyes and makes comments about a "ball and chain." Luckily, I know that just means that she loves me and doesn't want to admit that I'm right.

Hello Iowa, my old friend

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig. The kitties were so nice to let Kath and I sleep in until noon on Sunday, since we didn't get home until after one in the morning... I spent way too much time sitting in airports on Saturday, but I was happy just to get home. I even upgraded myself to first-class on my last flight just to be sure that I would get a seat after my original flight was cancelled.

I love Iowa City, folks. If it only had a large body of water that was the size of Lake Superior or the Atlantic Ocean and was located within a day's drive of New England, we would be set. The best part of my life, meeting and falling in love with Katherine, happened here. So, flying home after this holiday season was slightly bittersweet when I realized that this would be our last holiday trip East.

Poor Katherine. I think she should be prepared for buckets of tears from me for the next 5 months. I spent the 6 months before she moved back to Massachusetts occasionally tearing up whenever I would think about her leaving. I'm thinking this is going to happen again when I think about leaving Iowa City, my home for the past 7.5 years. Perhaps I wouldn't get so teary-eyed if I would focus on the "lovely" move East- with 3 kitties who dislike each other and one litterbox- all in one car. Now that will be fun!

I am addicted to the internet.

How did I live before internet access? Apparently, I had a lot more time and was much more productive. I've learned this in the two days that I've spent without having the opportunity to get online.

2009 has been an interesting year thus far. I've had many mini-crises in my head and an actual real crisis yesterday involving icy roads and late buses and a missed interview that was (thankfully) rescheduled. (I learned from this fiasco, though, that it is best to not travel to one's interview the same day and have changed my travel plans accordingly.) Aaagh. Have I mentioned that I now hate the match? I swear that it is designed to test the mental health of med students prior to entering that stressful intern year. I will win this battle, though.

What else have I learned in the first days of 2009? That I eat when I'm stressed. Sour cream and onion chips. I'm feeling a strange sense of deja-vu. I think I should take up yoga instead... and in a strange coincidence, my better half gave me a yoga DVD and a yoga ball for Christmas. I should pull it out tonight. I think I need it.